Resurgence
by Valerie Sabrina Verzoe
Summary: Tenten has been alone ever since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, she was convinced that she was over the death of a certain man, until she stared at him in the eye. /"It took me almost twenty years to accept the fact that you're gone, how dare you to just show up and become alive again?" / "Aren't you glad that I am alive?" / "So that I can lose you again?" / Slightly AU.
1. Alone

_There he was, sitting alone in the darkness._

 _She called his name, repeatedly but the void had stolen her voice._

 _Sweat rolled down her oval-shaped face as her mouth formed the shape of his name._

 _Nothing but the emptiness of the void filled her ears._

 _She reached forward, stretching her arms to their full length._

 _But he was out of her reach._

 _Despair lingered as he began to descend into the dark abyss, his body disappearing and at the last moment, he turned around and stared at her with his pale eyes._

"Neji, Neji, Neji!" She shot up, her bangs covered her eyes as she found herself wide awake, her tanned skin covered with cold sweat.

She blinked and blinked again. In her room, decorated with weapons and scrolls, she was alone.

The same nightmare had come to plague her again, it was happening much too often.

 _As she always was._

 _How many years has it been?_

 _The last time she saw him, his white, milky eyes were shut, sealed forever while the curse mark that bared his fate disappeared._

 _His face was pale, the blood having drained from his wound, from which the large spike sprouted, as if it grew from within him; he looked calm, as if he was asleep - there was even a tiny, tiny smile on his face._

 _She wobbled, not sure whether it was because of her being just woken up from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, or that she was holding back the tears she had._

 _Lee was crying, he pressed his arm against his eyes as he heaved up and down._

 _Guy-sensei was on the verge of death - it was a miracle that he was still alive._

 _She needed to stay strong, for her team - it took her all her might to hold back her tears, for there is no time for weakness, no time for tears. She tightened her fists, bit down on her teeth as hard as she could._

" _Goodbye, Neji," she whispered as she saw the medic-nin carry his body away on a stretcher._

 _The next time she saw him again, rather, his name - it was carved on a plaque, amidst the sea of graves._

 _His face was carved in her memory._

She slapped on her face, a loud pang rang through her ear as the pain began to kick in, she pressed onto her stinging face.

"Snap out of it Tenten," she muttered. "He's gone."

She shut her eyes tight as she forced herself to sleep.

* * *

"No, this wouldn't do," she said to the Chunin next to her. "Kids nowadays have much better training than we did back at the day, so the track needs to be more complicated - or else we won't be able to test their abilities."

"Yes 'mam." He replied as he walked away.

She held her clipboard against her ribcage, jotting down another note as she paced around.

"The traps needed some more fine-tuning, gotta tell Shino about that…" She muttered to herself.

She jolted and turned around swiftly, feeling someone touching her shoulder. Instinctively, she pulled out a kunai and glanced around warily.

"Oh, it's you." She frowned and smiled, putting her kunai away.

"Was it really necessary?" The man behind her smiled briefly, his eyes wide open as he did.

"Sorry Sai, old habits die hard," she shook her head, waving her hand towards him apologetically. "What's up?"

"Lord Seventh is asking for you at the office, I just got back and got the extra mission as a messenger." Sai said, blinking as his smile hung on his face. "Better not keep him waiting."

"Got it, thanks." Tenten leapt onto the roof and began hopping. It took her little less than twenty leaps before she found herself at the window of the Hokage's office.

"Ah, it's Tenten," said Shikamaru, looking up and nodding at her.

"Sai just told me to come," she jumped in and stood in front of the table, amidst the stacks of documents and instant ramen cups, behind the computer screen sat a blonde man who was frowning quite deeply, his oceanic blue eyes looked up as she steadied herself.

"I know you're busy with the preparation of the upcoming Chunin exams," he began, his voice clearly raspy from deprivation of sleep. "But there's something strange, and I think you should look into it."

"I'll do whatever that needs to be done, Lord Seventh." She nodded at him.

Naruto turned his gaze upon Shikamaru, who was holding his chin. The man cleared his throat, as he nodded at the Hokage.

"The matter's basically this - there've been some strange occurrences at our northeastern borders, there've been strange attacks on small villages by a rogue, the patterns and methods are quite peculiar." Shikamaru carefully observed Tenten's expression. "More precisely, as we have learnt that his attack patterns are quite similar to someone we know."

"And that is?" Tenten asked, prompting as she glanced at Shikamaru.

"Well," he cleared his throat. "It's gonna get troublesome - the rogue apparently had similar skill set as Hyuga Neji."

Tenten felt her heart jolting inside. "It's impossible, Neji is…"

"Dead, I know," said Shikamaru, stroking his goatee. "But given that piece of information, we wanted to send someone who is familiar with his skillset, as well as someone who can counter his attacks."

Tenten nodded. "So you picked me."

"Yes, you'd know Neji if it was him, though unlikely," Shikamaru said. "But if it wasn't him, given their similarities, you'd be able to identify the flaws in his attack and help your teammates."

"I see." She nodded obediently. "And my teammates…"

"We aren't taking any risks, the best option is capturing him alive if we can, but if we couldn't, then we would have to terminate the threat permanently." Shikamaru seemed to stress the word permanently a bit too long for Tenten's taste.

"Your team will assemble at 0500 hours tomorrow at the gates," Naruto said, nodding. "Shikamaru will make the necessary arrangements, go home and rest up."

"Yes, Lord Seventh."

* * *

Tenten left the room and closed the door behind her. There was a strange feeling burning inside of her as she left the Hokage tower, as she looked around, each and every face began to remind her a little bit of him.

Her steps quickened, her walk soon turned into a run, as she dashed through the crowd, and finally, she reached her home.

She quickly unlocked the door and slammed herself shut inside, panting from her hastened pace.

Her heart was racing as she sat herself down on the floor against the door of her apartment.

She was well-trained, well-seasoned on the battlefield; yet for the first time in many, many years, she was frightened of this upcoming mission.

What if she had been lying to herself? What if everything she had tried to cope with in the past years changes overnight?

What if Neji was alive the whole time, and she did nothing?

She buried her face against her knees, sitting in a foetal position as she wept silently.

She knew it, cursing herself as tears rolled down her face.

 _Dammit, dammit, dammit …_ She slammed her fist onto the floor out of frustration.

She had been lying to herself for almost the past twenty years, from every day when she woke up and to every night when she fell asleep.

 _She had never, never gotten over him._

 _She still loved him._

* * *

Author's note:

A first attempt on writing a slightly AU story on NejiTen - one of my favourite couples after Shikatema ... I hope this story will be interesting, although it will be a bit dark ._. I just came up with this plot randomly and I thought that Neji and Tenten would be a better couple to fit this story in an AU closer to the original universe.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! Be sure to review or PM me if you have anything you want to tell me!

V.S.V xoxo


	2. Watch

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

She stood there, counting for the tenth time.

Kunais, shurikens and weapon scrolls, she made sure that she had everything, because she knew what to expect.

If it was truly Neji, then it would be a tough fight, that is, if he could not recognise them.

She had her doubts - if it was Neji, then attacking villagers as a rogue just did not sound like something he would do.

She packed everything, weapons, food pills … it had been some time that she had been on a mission like this. Ever since it was peace time, she had hid herself in that weapon shop.

She felt her heart jumping out of chest, as she turned and stared at her empty apartment for one last time.

The door closed with a soft thud.

A few hops and leaps, she found herself standing at the gate; she stared at the electric clock that was installed some time ago.

The clock blinked 0500 in a flaring red as she stared.

"Tenten!" _It has been a while._

The man ran up. He had not change much, the same haircut, the almost same face save for his more-defined cheekbones. His naked arms glistened in a film of sweat, Tenten smiled at him.

"You walked here on your hands again, haven't you?"

"Of course! Nothing beats youthful training in the morning!"

Tenten noticed a smaller figure behind him, she smiled at him.

"Sending your father off huh, Metal?"

The miniature version of the man nodded, his hands pressed onto the ground as his legs dangled in the air.

Tenten chuckled softly as she looked around. She folded her arms in front of her chest, glancing sideway, she saw Rock Lee bumping fists with his son, who grinned widely.

As she pondered on the sight, she could hear another approaching.

"Hey, it's been a while." The voice ended with a loud bark, Tenten turned around.

The man grinned, touching his bearded face as his other hand rubbed the head of the dog that stood next to him. It reminded her of a familiar sight, as she smiled.

"Haven't seen you for quite some time, Kiba."

"The same to you, Tenten." He petted the dog, it nudged its head affectionately against Kiba's side. Its white fur glittered under the morning sun, which was slowly crawling onto the horizon.

"This isn't Akamaru." Tenten arched an eyebrow.

Kiba sighed softly, he petted the dog's head gently. "Akamaru's gone for some time now."  
"I'm sorry."  
"Don't be, he lived a good life." Kiba shrugged with a smile. "This is Aomaru, Akamaru's kid."

The dog barked again upon hearing its name.

"No one's here to see you off?"

"Nah, Tamaki's at home, I told her not to come." Kiba grinned as he scratched his head vigorously.

Tenten nodded, trying to divert her mind to the mission as her thoughts were interrupted by a loud yawn.

"Yo," the man yawned again. Shikamaru adjusted his gloved hand and stroked his goatee.

Judging from the dark circles beneath his eyes, she guessed that the man probably had not sleep last night, probably the one before last as well.

"Three members?" Kiba asked. "Y'sure about that?"

"Should be quite sufficient, we have Kiba to sniff the target out, Rock Lee who would be sufficient to engage with close combat and finally, Tenten to capture the target." Shikamaru said, his tired eyes glinted under the rising sun.

"Newest intel stated that the target was closing in to Konoha, and annihilated a bandit group all by his own." Shikamaru said, as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "It appeared that this time he left the villages alone, he's learning, somehow."

Tenten nodded, her gloved hand sweaty.  
"Well," Shikamaru shrugged. "Times are different now, we have mobile phones - but just in case I can't reach you, I will send a messenger hawk."

"Really?" Kiba arched an eyebrow as he scratched his face.

"You never know when you'll lose the signal." Shikamaru sighed. "I don't trust those damn things."

"Let's go," said Tenten, nodding at Shikamaru.

The Hokage's advisor stared as the trio stepped out of the gates, one of them on their hands, one on his pet and one on her feet.

"I hope that I've made the right decision," he muttered with a frown and yawned again. "Troublesome."

* * *

"It's been some time since we get to go on missions together," Kiba prompted as the three trudged on in an uncomfortable silence. "Y'know, I don't think I've ever seen you go on missions ever since the war…"

"Uh," Tenten said, the grip of her head tightened around the straps of her backpack.

"Come on Tenten!" Lee grinned widely, raising his thumb towards her. "The three of us would be fine! Let your youthfulness shine through!"

Tenten nodded and gave her teammate a strained smile, her steps hastened from a walk to a jog.

Kiba sighed softly. "Come on now Aomaru," he said, urging the dog to pick up the pace.

Rock Lee saw and did the same.

They travelled until the sky turned from grey to pitch black. They heard the crows calling in the forest, as Kiba started a fire.

"I'm going to keep watch for the first half of the night," said Tenten as she stood up and walked away, her silhouette disappearing into the darkness.

She made a few leaps and sat herself down on a thick tree branch.

She could hear the fire cackling beneath the tree she sat upon, the owls hooting and the distant howl of a wolf.

"Tenten," she jolted, turning around as she heard her name.

"Oh it's you, Lee," she put the kunai she hid in her hand back into the pouch behind her back. "You shouldn't jump up like that."

"I'm worried about you," he said, ever so straightforward. "Ever since…"

"I don't want to talk about it Lee," she snapped. "You should sleep, I'll wake you when it's your turn to be on watch."  
"Tenten, you've been avoiding this for the past eighteen years." Lee said, pressing his hand on her shoulder. "Maybe it's time…"  
She pushed his hand off her shoulder violently. "I don't want to talk about it." She spat each word with her teeth gritting. Her composure softened as she turned her head away. "I want to be alone."

Lee took one last look at her before leaping down from the tree.

Tenten pinched herself, unsure what got over her; it was not the first time that Lee tried to talk to her over this.

In fact, this was partly the reason she had avoided him for the past years. Every single time they had a conversation, it would inevitably go to this very topic.

She knew that Lee cared about her, he noticed that something had been missing ever since the war was over.

She sighed softly, looking into the moon.

The pristine, pale orb shone in the pitch darkness, accompanied by a few, stray shining stars.

It reminded her of his white eyes that see all.

 _She wondered if he could see her now._

 _Two more days until they reached the destination._


	3. Between

"Yo," she turned around and saw Kiba, he flashed a grin as he sat down next to her.

"You can go get some sleep if you want," he yawned loudly as he stretched his arms.

Tenten shook her head, she gave Kiba a brief smile. "You could go sleep some more if you want, I'm not tired."

"Well I've waken up already," Kiba recoiled his stretched limbs.

Tenten sat there as Kiba shifted, attempting to make himself more comfortable.

They maintained the silence, Tenten kicked her feet uncomfortably, as Kiba cleared his throat.

"So... what do you think?" He cracked his knuckles as he looked at her.

Tenten blinked as she bit onto her lip gently.

"I don't know what to think," she sighed softly and smiled faintly. "Surely the dead wouldn't come back to life, would it?"

"Me neither, all of this seems unbelievable." Kiba shook his head, he pressed his hand against his face. "I suppose it's even harder on you and Lee."

Tenten shook her head, she sighed softly.

"Honestly, I didn't want to take the mission." Kiba shook his head and let out a loud sigh. "I don't feel like I can face him, if it's really him."

Tenten turned her head and stared at him intently, she arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's a long story," Kiba sighed, he turned and looked at the moon. "You really should sleep."

"I…"

"It's going to be a long day," he nudged her with his elbow. "C'mon, go catch some sleep."

Tenten pondered upon Kiba's words as she leapt down from the tree and reached the campsite.

She closed her eyes forcefully, attempting to plunge herself into sleep.

* * *

The sun leered into the forest as daybreak came, she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Morning Tenten!" Lee exclaimed, he was throwing mud over the pile of burnt firewood as he spoke. "I have caught some fish for breakfast."

"Morning," she stood up and stretched.

Hearing sounds above her in a tree, Kiba leapt down. "I heard breakfast," he grinned for a moment.

The three of them sat down where their fire was, chewing the fish that Lee had prepared.

"Nothing better than fresh fish in the morning, right Aomaru?" The ninja dog barked in response, sticking out its tongue rapidly.

Tenten pulled out the mobile phone - a new form of communicative device that was only recently incorporated into the standard gear for shinobis.

"No signal," she muttered as she shoved it back into her pocket.

The three of them cleaned up behind them, making sure they left no trace of their existence.

Kiba took a deep breath and began to walk with Aomaru by his side, Tenten and Lee followed him as he did.

She maintained her distance, glancing around as she observed their surroundings, more importantly, she just wanted to be alone.

"Do you remember what day is it today, Tenten?" She heard Lee's voice, only to realise that he was standing right next to her. His voice was much calmer than his usual 'youthful' speech.

Tenten blinked at him. "Of course I do."

 _How could she forget? She had tried so many different ways to forget - but it was impossible._

 _Today was the day when Neji died, eighteen years ago._

"It has been that long already," Lee sighed, he patted his hand onto Tenten's shoulder.

She shuddered, brushing his hand off her. "I said, Lee, I don't want to talk about it now."

Just as Lee was about to retort, the call of a hawk tore through the morning skies, she looked up and saw a brown messenger hawk, descending upon them.

She raised her hand as the hawk gracefully landed upon it, its strong talons gripping onto her arm, yet the creature was careful not to exert great force.

Tenten quickly unfastened the box behind the bird's back and pulled out a roll of paper. Her teammates ran to her side.

Unfolding the paper, she studied the message.

"What does it say?"

"It says that the man was spotted just around two miles from where we are right now, we must hurry." Tenten waved her hand into the air, the hawk leapt and flapped its wing, shooting up into the air and departed.

They took no time to rush to their new destination, travelling as fast as they could.

As they approached, that almost constant grin on Kiba's face faded.

"I can smell blood," he said, his nose sniffing. "Still fresh, and also burnt wood."

"Could be fire-style jutsu," Tenten muttered.

"If only Shino was here," Kiba muttered as they hurried on.

Tenten paid no attention, all she wanted was to get there as fast as she could.

She could hear the sound of faint explosions as they approached. She could feel her heart racing, perhaps it was him, perhaps he needed their help, perhaps.

 _Perhaps he was waiting there - to kill them._

As they finally approached, the sight reminded of her back in the time, what most place are like, after they have been ravaged by bandits or rogue shinobis.

The ground was charred to a ashy dark grey, several trees have collapsed; freshly fallen leaves burned to crisps. Above that, she saw the paralysed, barely living bodies of bandits, lying on the ground gasping for breath.

She walked up to one of them, whose body seemed grotesquely burned.

"What happened?" She crouched down and asked.

The man attempted to speak, it was almost like a whisper - her experience told her it was probably due to his airways being burned, soon it would swell and he would die.

"Spinning," the man said, it was almost illegible. "The man…"  
He stopped talking after taking in a large lungful of air. Tenten reached over and checked his pulse, she felt nothing.

"Can you pick up anything Kiba?"

"No, everything is covered by the smoke," Kiba sneezed loudly after taking in a deep breath. "My nose, godammit."

Rock Lee stood by as he scanned around, his muscles began to tense up.

"Someone's coming." He called to his teammates, Tenten instinctively pulled out a kunai.

Aomaru began to bark at the direction which Lee was facing, Kiba glared at the same direction.

"So it's you who killed our brothers!" The man stood there with a dozen of other bandits, he pointed at them with their swords.

"No mister, it's not us who killed them-" Rock Lee attempted to explain, only to have the man charging towards him with his sword pointed at him.

He evaded the attack and began to engage him. The other bandits charged, Kiba and Tenten were soon tied down in combat.

Tenten soon realised that these bandits were more skillful than she had expected - these were rogue ninjas.

"Look at you pretty!" One of them teased as their blades clashed. "Women like you shouldn't be playing with kunais, you should stay home and cook for your man."

"Shut up," she backed off, and took out a scroll, with a few swift hand signs, she quickly summoned a long, dark blade and charged towards the man.

The man evaded her charge, as he skipped to the side, Tenten saw him made several hand signs.

She quickly dodged, as a ball of fire burst out from his mouth.

Tenten sucked her teeth, leaping into the air, she unravelled another pair of scrolls, they unfolded and surrounded her as she reached mid air.

A tornado of weapons appeared out of a thin layer of smoke. She took hold of them and began to throw them towards him, the man managed to evade the first few that she was throwing towards him; she smiled confidently as she tugged onto the strings attached to them and brought the weapons shooting towards him.

The man cursed as the blade glided past him, drawing blood; he pressed onto his hand.

As Tenten descended from mid-air, she pulled out a handful of shuriken and threw it towards the man.

She landed and stood up as the last of her shurikens pierced him, he collapsed onto the ground.

Suddenly, she was knocked sideways, she found herself flying through the air towards the large tree behind her.

 _Is it the end?_ She thought to herself.

She expected to feel pain, cold, anything ... but it did not come until she finally hit the trunk of that tree.

She scowled slightly in pain, before quickly rolling up from the ground.

As she looked up, she saw a man standing in front of her, his long dark hair glistened as the air filled with sparks of fire and smoke. His broad shoulders steady as his palm faced forward. The light that surrounded him made him almost god-like, a surreal presence as he stood there between her and the attacker who just sneaked up on her.

The view of his back was the most familiar, she had seen it numerous times before.

She felt her eyes welling up with tears, her lips parting as she whispered the name that she had not spoken of for eighteen years.

"Neji."

* * *

Author's note:

Here comes the man we all missed dearly ... stay tuned for updates! (will try to update asap) Thanks for reading and supporting the story xoxo

V.S.V


	4. Who and Why

The man did not turn around, with a leap he lunged, with deadly precision, he pressed his fingers against the assailant's chest.

He fell to the ground before he could utter another word.

Tenten stood up, the last rogue had fallen - her teammates rushed from the other side of the battlefield.

Neji stood his ground as Lee and Kiba approached.

"We are taking you in," Lee stated, his hand held straight towards him. Aomaru growled as Tenten stood behind him.

"I don't understand," Neji said plainly, as he raised his hand and pointed his finger towards the two men.

"You're Lee, you're Kiba," he said, and paused. "But you two are not them."

"What do you mean?" Kiba snapped, Aomaru barked as his master shouted towards the man.

"You look different," said Neji. "You look … old."

Rock Lee and Kiba looked at each other for a moment. Kiba shook his head violently.

"No, stop screwing us over, you imposter!" Aomaru barked as it lowered itself ready to pounce.

"Wait!" Tenten snapped and wedged herself between the men. "Can't you see?"

"Tenten-" Rock Lee was stopped by Tenten as she raised her hand. She turned around and stared into the man's pale, placid eyes.

She felt her lips trembling, her gaze wavering.

His face was just like the way she remembered - his nose tall and straight, his eyes set deeply; his irises the colour of snow, of clouds; his lips pursed together as his brows furrowed, out of confusion. The only thing missing was his curse mark - the bounding cage that faded as he departed from this world.

"You." She said, pausing as she faced him, her gaze began to muddle as tears well up.

She pointed to herself, her hand shaking as her long slender finger pointed to her oval shaped face.

"Do you remember me?"

He blinked and stared at her intently, his pursed lips slowly turned into a curve, its corners turned upwards.

"Of course," he smiled. "Don't be silly, Tenten."

The sound of her name coming out of his lips sent a shudder down her spine - it felt like a thousand needles piercing her back at the same time, she took a step forward and stared into his eyes.

"But are you, you?"

"What kind of question is that?" Neji said, in a tone that was both surprised and offended. "Of course I'm me."

Tenten pressed her hand against her arm, encircling herself as she looked down on her feet.

She blinked hard, shooting her head upwards as she let out a soft, prolonged sigh.

She lowered her head, facing him with her eyes closed.

"But you're dead, Neji, you can't be you."

He shrugged, blinking.

"I agree, but here I am." Neji said bluntly. "This is not genjutsu, I am here, back alive, in the flesh."

"Enough with all this bullshit!" Kiba snapped. "We're taking you with us, Neji or not, we'll find out back in Konoha."

Neji glared at him for a brief moment. "You still have the scent of a wet, rabid dog, Inuzuka," he said.

"You!" Rock Lee raised his hand, Kiba bit down on his tongue and turned away.

"Neji-kun, you must come with us back to the village." He said sternly.

"I'd glad to," Neji stared around. "This place looked so different, I couldn't find my way - I was planning to go home all along."

"Alright, then let's go." Lee looked Kiba with a reassuring look on his face.

Tenten waited for the men to start walking, as she trailed behind at a distance.

It almost seemed too surreal - she was not sure what to feel about this.

There he was, walking, breathing - as if nothing ever happened, it was as if he had forgotten the fact that he was dead for eighteen years.

"Tenten," she snapped out of her trance as she heard Lee calling her name.

Realising that there was a large distance between them, she raced to catch up.

For now, this physical distance between them was the only thing she could catch up with.

* * *

Shikamaru stared as they appeared from the edge of the horizon - it did not take his IQ 200 brain to process the situation - they got him.

As the four of them approached, Shikamaru arched an eyebrow - he looked genuinely surprised.

"Neji?" He asked, his tone still nonchalant.

"Shikamaru," Neji called his name. The dark-haired man stared at him, his almond-shaped eyes scanning him from head to toe.

"We'll escort you back to the Hyuga Mansion - they are expecting you." Shikamaru said, leading the way. "Let's go."

Shikamaru turned towards the team of three. "Don't worry, I will escort him back, you guys take a rest."

He walked side by side with him, as he looked over his shoulder, he saw Tenten, staring as they walked further and further away.

"So, how's life?" Neji's voice seemed so strangely familiar to him - it was something that he had not hear in eighteen years.

"Good, troublesome, but good."

"You look much older, in fact," Neji paused for a moment. "You look like your father."

Shikamaru shrugged and smiled. "I guess that happens."

"You're Naruto's adviser now, aren't you?" Neji was smiling as he walked.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru was dumbfounded for a brief moment, he smiled as he realised the painful truth.

 _Of course he cared, Neji died for Naruto._

"Yeah," he said. "It's a drag, the man works too hard."

"I guess that's how you keep going after your dream comes true."

Shikamaru nodded, stroking his goatee as he walked.

"Is there no need to quarantine me, for the safety of the village?" Neji stopped, Shikamaru turned around and looked at him. The man smiled at him, sighing softly.

"From that, I know I don't need to." Shikamaru smiled at him. "Come on now."

They kept going, as Neji marveled at how the village had changed - everything was electronic, novel to his eyes. Shikamaru observed him quietly as the man seemed awkwardly out of place in the village he knew so well, yet found so unfamiliar.

"So," Neji continued - the man was strangely talkative. "You've got your own family now?"

Shikamaru smiled as he brought it up. "Yeah."

"You married Temari, didn't you?"

"I did. We have a son."

Neji smiled. "Everyone has a family now, that's great."

Shikamaru paused for a moment, his smile faded as he let out a soft sigh.

"Well, not exactly everyone."  
They stopped at the entrance of the Hyuga Mansion, as Neji stared at Shikamaru, befuddled.

He looked straight into his pale eyes with his dark brown orbs.

"Tenten is alone, this whole time."

Neji remained silent as he stared back into Shikamaru's eyes.

"Everyone else has someone - even Shino has his students." Shikamaru sighed again. "She is alone."

"Why?" The question blurted out of Neji's lips almost instinctively.

Shikamaru stared at him, it nearly escaped his mind that Neji died when he was seventeen - of course he didn't understand.

"Your death," he said. "She never got over what happened."

Shikamaru sighed softly, as Neji stared at him, confused.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Shikamaru, walking away as he waved. "I'll arrange for you to meet everyone - you've got some catching up to do."

Neji blinked as his friend walked away, something churned inside of him.

Her face flashed in his mind - her oval face, brown, round eyes brimming with tears.

Something inside him felt uneasy.

* * *

Author's note:

Another chapter! The story is mainly NejiTen, but I will enrich it with Neji's other friendships as side stories. I hope you enjoy!

Feel free to reivew or PM me xoxo

V.S.V


	5. Heartbeat

He opened his eyes.

His room was still the way he remembered it - 'empty' would be a perfect word to describe it.

His bed sheet and blanket was a dull combination of grey and white, a few scrolls stacked atop of his study desk.

He sat up, as if nothing ever happened - not the war, not the darkness and void - it was as if he just woke up from a long sleep after a tiring mission.

He turned to the side of the bed, and felt the cold wooden floor as his feet touched the ground.

He walked up to the wardrobe, taking a deep breath before stepping in front of the mirror.

He stared into the mirror, seeing his face almost felt like seeing a long lost friend.

Neji realised, his face was still the same, everything about him was the same except for that large scar on his chest.

Raising his hand he touched his bare forehead, where his curse mark used to be.

There was no trace of it - the scar and his forehead were the only two things that reminded him he had not just woken up from a nightmare.

It was very real - he was in fact, dead.

But now he was alive, very much.

"Neji nii-san!" He quickly threw clothes over himself and opened the door.

Hanabi stood outside his door, she looked at him with a smile.

He was trying very hard to connect the sight in front of him with the young woman in front of him, even a few years older than him.

"Good morning Hanabi-sama."

"Sorry if I woke you up too early," Hanabi blinked at him. "Nee-sama and Hokage-sama are here to see you."

"I'll wash up and then come down," said Neji.

He blinked and stared in the mirror as he put on his old clothes - as if time had stopped.

He was not sure whether he was ready, as he held onto the handrail and walked down the staircase, he felt his steps wobbled.

He heard the faint laughter of adults and children, as he walked closer, he took a deep breath.

The door slid open, he stared, forgetting to smile, what he planned to say to Hinata, to Naruto.

Hanabi sat next to Hinata, in her hands was a little girl, hugging her. The little girl's hair was short and dark, a strand of it poked atop from her head. She stared at Neji with her cheerful blue eyes, slightly confused.

He took a gulp and nodded. "Hinata-sama, Naruto." He shook his head. "Nanadaime."

"Just call me the way you're used to." Naruto smiled at him, Neji frowned as he looked at the blonde man. Neji noticed the fine lines and dark circle around his eyes, how he blinked tiredly.

Hinata stood up, she looked much mature than he remembered, the stuttering, shy girl was no longer there, he stood there as Hinata walked up to him. Without a word, she pulled him into her arms.

Neji raised his arms slowly and wrapped his arms around her, he could feel moisture on his shoulder where her head rested upon.

"Who's that, dad?" He heard a boy's voice. Neji looked up and saw a miniature version of Naruto, staring at him with his father's blue eyes.

Hinata moved away from Neji and smiled at him. "Boruto, this is your uncle Neji."

She smiled and turned towards Neji. "Neji nii-san," he shuddered as she held his hand and led him closer to her family.

"This is Boruto, and this is Himawari." Hinata turned at her children.

"Hey," Boruto arched his eyebrow, skeptically studying his face.

Himawari left Hanabi's embrace and approached slowly, staring up at him.

"Mama," she blinked. "This is the uncle Neji where we visited in the _cememetry_?"

"Cemetery," Hinata corrected her. "Yes, Hima," she took hold of her daughter's hand. "This is uncle Neji, we named your big brother after him."

Himawari smiled at him; there was an irresistible urge as he crouched down, he was at eye level with the little girl.

Himawari gently wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I gave you flowers every time I visited you, uncle Neji."

Neji returned the hug, gently holding the little girl and picking her up.

"Thank you," he said with a smile.

The sweet chuckle from Himawari warmed his heart, as it beat in his chest.

 _Indeed, his heart is beating, as he thought about it, it beat feverishly in his chest._

 _He is alive - as a free man._

 _He has been reborn. He is here, with his family._

* * *

"Tenten-san, Tenten-san!" She snapped out of her trance as she looked up, an unfamiliar face stared at her, both confused and slightly annoyed. In the young man's hand held a few kunais as well as some money.

"Thank you, come again," she packed the weapons hastily, and nodded as the man left.

She looked down at the counter she was sitting at - business at her weapons and supplies store had always been stable, shinobis have to go on mission, and her supplies are one of the best to be found in the village.

She scared herself as someone cleared his throat right in front of her. She looked up and saw the Hokage's adviser, standing at the counter with his arms folded across his chest, looking at her skeptically.

"You weren't at the meeting today for the Chunnin exams." It was a statement that came from Shikamaru's mouth.

"Sorry, I forgot," Tenten pressed against her forehead. "It won't happen next time."

Shikamaru sighed softly, shaking his head. "Well, that's that."

Tenten arched an eyebrow, staring at Shikamaru skeptically as he stroked his goatee.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Shikamaru?"

"In fact," he blinked, staring at her with his dark ebony eyes. "Temari wants to have you over for dinner."

"Temari-san?"

He nodded, sighing softly. "You have other arrangements?"

Tenten shuddered a little.

 _Obviously he knew she would not have any arrangements._

 _She is all alone in this world, there is no one waiting for her at home, no one._

"That's very kind of you," Tenten smiled faintly. "Don't mind if I join you, then."

"Great, I've got something to do back at the Tower." Shikamaru turned around, raising his hand as he left the shop. "See you at around seven at my place."

Something deep inside her mind told her that it is not as simple as a dinner at a friend's place.

After all, Shikamaru is not a simple man, neither Temari a simple woman.

She started to tidy up her shop, counting the stock and the money in the cashier.

As she pulled the shutter in front of the shop and locked the doors, she sighed softly.

She turned around, her steps increasingly fast as she kept walking.

There was a strange sense of interpretation as she did, as if she knew.

She knew that Shikamaru was going to tell her something.

More importantly, it would most probably be about Neji.

As the sun descended slowly into the darkness, Tenten kept going.

As she always did.

* * *

Author's note:

Thank you for patiently waiting for an update and reading this story! Looking forward to hear from you in PMs and/or reviews!

I hope you enjoy the story as always xoxo

V.S.V


	6. Mission

The sound of the doorbell echoed as her finger left the bell.

"Coming," she could hear an unfamiliar voice as hasty footsteps ran towards the door.

The door opened, she found herself staring at a confusing scene.

A tall boy stared into her brown eyes, it was as if time was drunk and threw her into a wrong dimension; she thought she saw Shikamaru, but the eyes she found staring at her reminded her of someone else.

"Tenten-san," the boy called her name, greeting her with a nod as he held the door for her.

"Eh, thanks Shikadai," Tenten blinked and walked, noticing the boy was putting on his shoes.

"Where're you heading?"

"Sleepover at Boruto's," Shikadai smiled at her, before turning around and shouted. "I'm leaving!"

"Be safe!" Tenten snapped back into reality, hearing a familiar voice, footsteps heading towards her way as the door shut behind her.

Before she knew it, there she stood - her blonde hair neatly tied up into four bunches, her tall lean frame wrapped in a dark blue kimono. Temari smirked at her.

"Come on in," she said, as Tenten finished removing her sandals.

Tenten followed Temari into the dining room, where Shikamaru was sitting, flipping over a newspaper. He looked up as she walked in.

"Yo," he said, putting down the newspaper. Temari went by his side and knelt down, she picked up the bottle of beer and poured him another cup.

"You want one?" She asked Tenten. She shook her head. "Beer's not really my thing."

Temari shrugged and stood up, walking back into the kitchen.

Shikamaru took a sip from the foamy cup, he licked his lips as he put the cup down.

"I assumed you'd be wondering why I had asked you to come here." Shikamaru blinked, his dark brown eyes stared at Tenten as she looked back at him.

She could feel a strange tingle along her spine, her mind boggled with excitement and fear at the same time.

"Yes."

"I have a mission for you, Tenten," he said. "A mission which only you could do."

She held her breath in anticipation.

"Mission or what not," just as Shikamaru was about to say something, Temari walked inside, holding a pot in her hand. "Dinner is ready."

She said nothing as Temari placed their meals onto the table, she sat down next to Shikamaru.

"Dig in," he said, before grabbing his chopsticks.

Tenten began to eat, her eyes widening in amazement as she chewed.

"Your cooking's good," she said, Shikamaru chuckled at the comment as Temari shook her head.

"You sound like you're surprised," Temari scoffed with a smile.

"You don't seem like the domestic type," Tenten shrugged with a weak smile.

"You can keep talking," Temari smirked. "I can still beat you any time, any day."

Tenten thought for a moment she saw the ruthless kunoichi, dressed in her lilac outfit, staring down at her before sweeping her aside with her giant fan.

Tenten stared at Temari for a brief second, before both women broke into laughter.

Temari rubbed her eyes as Tenten stared at her admirably.

"I still find it hard to believe that you two ended up together," said Tenten.

The couple turned and stared at each other, Temari rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Things work in miraculous ways." Her green eyes sparkled as she exchanged an affectionate glance with her husband.

Tenten felt her heart aching a little as she saw - their blissfulness unknowingly mocked the loneliest woman in the village.

"How've you been?" Temari turned around, Tenten gulped the bite and blinked at her.

"Y'know, since Neji returned… it must've been quite an experience, to say the least," the woman's voice rang in her ears. "He looked just the same as he did, I wondered if he had aged, or if he had just came back from the grave."

"I…" Tenten found herself tongue-tied, how could she put so many emotions in words?

"Temari," Shikamaru's calm voice broke the icy silence, he rested his hand on hers as he gave her a reassuring smile. "You said you made some sweet soup for dessert, didn't you?"

"Right, I'll fetch you two some dessert." She grinned at them and stood up.

As Temari walked into the kitchen, Tenten turned back at Shikamaru with an anxious glance.

"The mission," she said, her hands clasped together nervously.

Shikamaru nodded. "Naruto has given his permission, and he agreed that you are the best person, no, the only person who could do this mission."

Tenten waited, in great anticipation, her brown eyes wavered as Shikamaru's lips parted.

"We want you to get close to Neji, to investigate his… resurrection."

Tenten's back stiffened. "I…"

"Sakura, the medical team and archives team are doing the best that they can … but we all know - Neji was dead, but now he is alive." He clasped his hands together. "And given your past history with him, it is most likely that you would be able to get something out of him that no one else can."

"Why me?"

Shikamaru pressed his hand on his chin, staring at the table as he tapped his finger.

"We've thought about it - while Hinata is his family, they haven't been really close up until nearly the time of his … well, death." Shikamaru paused. "And since you are way more sensitive to emotions, compared to Lee, you're the obvious choice."

Tenten nodded. "I see, what about Ino? Will you ask her to look into his mind?"

"Of course we will have Ino look at him, but whoever revived him would have made precautions. Ino told us that often, memory sealing jutsus can be broken by strong emotions; if there is anyone who can invoke that in Neji, that'd be you."

Tenten felt the temperature of the room dropping, her heart felt a chill as a thought flew by her mind.

"Do you mean that Neji was revived by someone aiming to harm Konoha?"

"I can't say for sure, that's why we need to make sure." There was a glint in his eyes.

Tenten stared back at him, she bit onto her lips for a brief moment.

"What if he is a threat?"

Shikamaru sucked his teeth as he threw his head back, scratching its back ferociously.

"I don't want to think about this, and I hate to say this…"  
"We would have to kill him." Tenten gulped. "I would have to."

"If it comes to that…" Shikamaru paused, he observed Tenten's face, darkening as each second passed. "The village's safety is of utmost importance."

She felt something churning inside of her, an acute pain banging in her head. Squeezing her hand into a fist, she blinked and sighed softly as she slowly relaxed her fist.

"I understand, you have your difficulties, Shikamaru."

"I'm glad that you do." Shikamaru nodded with his arms folded. "It is not an easy thing."

Tenten turned around and sighed softly. She stood up from her chair. "I think I should go now. Thanks for the meal." She pushed the chair back as she stood up.

"You're skipping dessert?" Temari poked her head out of the kitchen and arched an eyebrow.

"I'm quite full," said Tenten, smiling weakly at her. "Thank you very much, Temari-san, it's nice seeing you."

Shikamaru nodded at Temari with a reassuring smile. "I'll walk you to the door."

Tenten trudged slowly towards the door, she glanced over her shoulder, noticing that Temari was not following them.

"Does she know?"

"Not like down to every single detail, but she will figure it out," Shikamaru replied, frowning with a proud smile. "After all, my wife is a smart woman."

Tenten stared at the man as he smiled contently, she felt her heart jolting for a brief second.

"You're very lucky, Shikamaru."

"Huh?" He turned around and stared at her.

Tenten smiled at him. "You have a beautiful family, time has treated you well."

Shikamaru was about to say something as Tenten stood up, patting herself.

"I will make sure to report any findings."

The door closed behind her as she walked away from the Nara residence.

She observed her own shadow as she walked, wondering if she was being watched.

Tenten had for a brief moment thought that she could take the time to get used to Neji, and then she would be able to live on normally.

Her rational self told her that something was coming, the only thing she wondered was how far down the rabbit hole she was going to dive into.

There was a brief moment where she thought she was going to live on, innocently, being able to accept the fact that Neji was back, as if he had been on a long mission, and she was there to wait for him. She wanted to pretend that nothing had ever happened.

Now that she was tied to this mission, it could only mean one thing.

She had to face him.

* * *

Author's note:

Another chapter! I deliberated a little on how much to include in this chapter; this is mainly to set the pace for the upcoming chapters ... now that Tenten has a reason to get close to Neji, what will happen? Please stay tuned as the mystery unfold!

P.S. I wrote this story out of the belief that Neji shouldn't have died (he is too lovely a character to die :/); and I can't help to imagine if what happened if he got resurrected; this story is probably not going to be happy version of that alternate universe ... you have been warned.

Anyways, enjoy! xoxo

V.S.V


	7. Nostalgia

Neji lied on the theatre, the lights blinding him as a few of the medical shinobis examined him.

His pink-haired friend frowned as she stared at his bare chest, befuddled by the strange tissue that filled the large hole.

"Strange," she muttered as she turned around at the lightbox, studying the X-Ray films. "Strange."

One of the nurses helped him up, as Sakura sat next to the theatre, folding her gloved hands in front of her chest.

"The tissue that filled your chest, we had taken some samples of it and is analysing them, but…"

"Yes?" Neji felt like nothing could surprise him anymore.

"Supposingly, when that spike struck you, your rib cage would be crushed and definitely, your heart and lung too…" Sakura rubbed her chin, a squeaking voice echoing as the rubber surface of the glove touches her soft skin.

"I suppose so." Neji blinked, raising his hand gently as he pressed onto his chest, feeling nothing particularly strange, as if it was simply part of him instead of some unknown substance.

"Yes, but the strange thing is, under the X-ray, your lungs and heart is intact, as if nothing had happened." Sakura bit onto her lips. "We'll try to figure out something, don't worry at the moment."

"Sure," Neji blinked and nodded at her. "Thanks."

He stood up and wrapped his beige clothes around himself, covering the distinct scar on his chest.

As he walked out of the hospital, he noticed a familiar face, she stood there as if she was waiting for someone - he was not sure who.

"Tenten," he greeted her as she jolted her head upwards, she smiled at him warmly as the corners of her eye turned slightly wrinkly.

"Hey Neji," she looked at him. "What did Sakura say?"

"Not much, she grafted some tissue from my chest," said Neji. "You waiting for someone?"

"Yes, in fact, Lee and me brought Gai sensei over for some checkups." Tenten eyed the consultation room. "He should be out at any moment, do you want to join us for a meal afterwards?"

"Sure," he leaned against the wall next to Tenten, folding his arms.

There was a brief moment of silence, Tenten shifted uncomfortably against the wall.

"So," words stumbled out of his mouth. "How has everyone been doing?"

"Well," Tenten looked away as the door of the consultation room opened, Lee emerged with an older version of him on the wheelchair, the man's leg was wrapped in fresh, white cast.

"Wait," Gai sensei frowned, he raised his hand and pointed at him. "Lee, tell me it's not the drugs."

"No Gai sensei," Lee looked ahead and nodded at Neji. "That's Neji."

Lee hurried and pushed Gai towards the two of them.

"Gai sensei," Neji greeted the man on the wheelchair, leaning downwards at his teacher.

Tears gushed and rolled down his face, Gai raised his hand and wiped roughly across his face.

"I didn't have the chance to tell him," Lee said softly to Tenten, who shook her head in dismay, if they were not in the corridor of the hospital, she would have stabbed him with a kunai right away.

The older man reached out and pulled Neji towards him, and almost immediately he began to bawl, wrapping his arms around him.

He muttered through his sobbing and hiccups. Neji could not understand him, he never really understood his teacher, who was crying his eyes out while almost suffocating him.

Neji gently wedged himself away and knelt down in front of the wheelchair.

Tenten patted onto her teacher's shoulder. "Sensei, we should go grab something to eat."

The older man stared into the brunette's warm brown eyes, and nodded.  
"Let's go! Lee, full speed!"

"Yes sensei!"

Lee began to push his teacher forward at full throttle, followed by his two teammates.

Tenten chuckled softly, her face flushed at the instance she realised that Neji was looking at her.

"Wh-what're you looking at?" Tenten frowned and smiled awkwardly. "Let's go."

Neji saw her chasing after Lee and Gai-sensei, her strides wide and hastened - a strange feeling emerged in his chest, he was not sure whether he could call it nostalgia, for time had passed without waiting for him, he was stuck in the years before, in the past; this was the present.

He could never catch up with her, with his friends - there was an eighteen year gap, eighteen years of time between them.

"Neji, hurry up!" Her voice conked at his head, he looked up and realised she was standing at the cross section of the street, looking back at him with a smile. "They're gonna ditch us at this rate."

He smiled as he took a step, and another; he pace quickened as his walk turned into a run.

She smiled at him as he reached her side; the both of them leapt and ended up on the roof next to the street.

He said nothing, so did she as they ran atop of the tiled roofs of old houses and flat cement roofs of the new, side by side.

* * *

The three of them escorted their sensei home, Lee shut the door behind him.  
"It's nice that we get to hang out today," he grinned at his teammates, his eyes slowly darting away and looking at the sky, painted orange with the descending sun.

"Oh, it's late now, I have to go home," Lee grinned at Neji and Tenten. "Gotta make sure Metal gets a good, nutritious meal after tough training and school." He waved them goodbye and leapt off.

Neji stared as Lee raced off towards the sunset. He turned and saw Tenten looking at him for a brief moment, before looking away.

"You going home?"

"Yes," Tenten smiled at him. "And you?"

"Same," Neji blinked. "I was just wondering…"  
"I'm just going to eat alone," said Tenten, she smiled with a tiny frown on her face. "If you want to hang out, we could."

Neji smiled at her. "Let's go then."

As the two of them walked on the street, Neji noticed that the people shot strange glances at them.

Neji could sense from the change in her chakra, as her pace quickened.

"It's probably me, back in the time we used to recognised most faces in the village."

Tenten shook her head with a smile. "Perhaps they just find it weird," she paused, biting on her lip a little. "Normally, they don't see me walking around with someone by my side."

Neji frowned as Tenten's smile faded. "Tenten I…"

"Besides, you look way younger than me," she grinned at him, Neji studied her face. There was not the slightest joy in her grin. "You can't guarantee that people won't think the wrong thing."

"Perhaps what they think are right." Neji smiled, sending a blush all over Tenten's face.

The corners of her mouth turned upwards as she started to laugh. "Let's just get some food, I'm starving."

They stopped, almost simultaneously, right in front of the now newly renovated, much grander Ichiraku Ramen.

"Wow," Neji gasped, genuinely surprised.

"It's been quite some time since I've eaten at Ichiraku," said Tenten, there was a fond smile on her face. "Let's go."

As they stepped into the door, the staff at the counter welcomed them, her face unfamiliar.

They were led to a wooden booth, amongst the busy bustling restaurant.

Tenten sat down and looked around.

"You haven't been here quite some time, have you?" Neji asked, seeing that Tenten was almost as shocked as he was.

"Yes," Tenten's eyes darted away from the decor to the menu as she answered hastily, she bit her lip quickly as she did.

 _This was the place where they used to go all the time, as a team._

 _As young shinobis, they had little money to splurge - Ichiraku was the best place to go after a mission._

"Hi, may I take your order?" Another waiter came to their table, he was dressed in what Neji vaguely remembered as the uniform of Ichiraku, white robes with a blue apron, but Neji could tell the man had never stepped into the kitchen for a whole day.

"I'll have…"

"Two Miso Pork Ramen, no menma for one bowl." Neji said before Tenten could finish, passing back the menu to the waiter who nodded and walked away.

"Ha, you remembered?" Tenten chuckled softly, Neji looked befuddled, as if he just realised.

"Yeah, that kind of just popped out of my head." He scratched his head, as Tenten chuckled softly.

"That's very nice of you." Tenten took the liberty to pour themselves tea.

Neji took the tea and sipped, even the tea tasted different.

"Last time we came, we were still sitting at the bar, with old man Teuchi serving us noodles and chit chatting with Ayame," he said, as he stared around the unfamiliar place filled with unfamiliar faces.

Tenten did not say anything for a brief moment, she held her cup and stared as the steam rose from it.

"Well," she said, with a soft smile. "It was before the war, right?"

Neji saw her face twitched a little, he sighed softly as he held his cup in his hand. "Yes, it's … so long ago."

"It is," Tenten stared down as the waiter arrived with the two large bowls of ramen.

"Dig in," said Tenten as she reached over to the small drawer on the desk, her hand brushed against his as Neji tried to do the same.

She retracted as he pulled the drawer and took chopsticks for both of them.

"Thanks," she said as she took the chopsticks and ate.

They ate their ramen in silence, she stole occasional glances at him.

As their gaze met, she quickly looked away.

There was a certain calm with their quietness, contrasting the noisy environment, and their turbulent minds.

They both stood up as they finished - it was a habit they had since they were genin; Ichiraku back in the time had limited seats, and they were almost trained to leave immediately after eating.

As Tenten took out her purse, she felt a firm hand on hers.

"I'll treat you," said Neji, the warmth of his hand was static on hers - he was warm, his hand was soft, he was _very_ alive.

"Don't be silly, I'm way older…" That did not sound right, Neji seemed not offended, but she noticed he retracted his hand in a tiny movement.

She regretted it once the sentence came out of her lips.

Nevertheless, he placed the money on the counter and they walked out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry," said Tenten.

"Don't worry," said Neji, he turned around and looked at Tenten, their shoulders almost touching.

Tenten took a deep breath, her messy thoughts run through her mind.

As a kunoichi she had been taught exactly how to extract information, from men in particular.

It made her stomach twisted as the thought of doing that to Neji passed through her mind - not only was Neji her teammate, her friend; more importantly, she had feelings for him.

If they were going to have intimate relations, she wanted it the feelings to be mutual, consensual - not as an attempt in trying to extract information from him.

She bit onto her lips, and turned around smiling at him, trying to look as calm as she could.

"Well, I'm gonna go." Tenten said and turned around after waving at him briefly. "I'll see you…"  
"Tenten," his voice sent a shudder down her spine, as she looked up, she found his pale eyes staring at her softly, the milkiness of those pristine orbs glistening, changing colour along with the neon lights on the street.

"I want you to go somewhere with me."

* * *

Author's note:

Sorry for the late update! Working on my other stories + life has been busy!

I hope you enjoy reading this xoxo Thanks for the support and love as always!

V.S.V


	8. Word Spoken, Words Forgotten

Tenten followed Neji, who was a few steps ahead of her. The pedestrians seemed to have faded and assimilated themselves into the background as her vision turned tunnel-like - there was nothing in her gaze except for the shape of him and the flickering lights on the street.

With each step she took, her heart fluttered, at this moment, there was nothing else but him in her world; she felt as if time has wounded back, back to the day when they were on the battlefield.

 _The wind blew across the rugged rocks, she could hear it howl as it brushed past the tent with great intensity._

 _Tenten turned around as she lied down, trying to salvage some sleep before the war tomorrow._

 _Careful not to wake the others sleeping next to her, she turned again, only to realise that he was staring at her._

 _Lying on his side, Neji blinked. Tenten smiled at him._

 _He stood up and walked out of the tent, Tenten looked at him as he did._

 _Neji stood at the entrance and turned back, his ebony hair glittered under the cold moonlight._

 _Tenten scrambled to her feet, and followed him outside. He led her away, a distance from the tent before he stopped._

 _He stood at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the valley beneath and looking up at the glowing moon._

 _Tenten stared as Neji seemed to be surrounded by the aura of glistening moonlight, he turned around and looked at her._

" _Are you scared?" His calm voice broke the silence, another rush of wind brushed past them and carried his words away._

 _Tenten blinked before taking a step closer to him, minding the edge of the sandstone cliff._

" _I am," she said. "This is war, it's not like we haven't been in one, but last time… we were still kids - it's up to us to protect the children of the village this time." Tenten looked away, at the furthest edge that she could see. She wondered if Neji could see further than her, perhaps he could see past the rugged rocks and the roaring seas from afar… perhaps he could see the future?_

" _And you, are you scared?"_

 _She could hear his deep sigh, as if he sighed from the bottom of his heart, deep within him where his soul was._

" _I am petrified." His voice was ever so calm, as Tenten turned and looked at him. He was staring afar. "I am frightened to my core, but on the other hand, I am quite excited."_

 _She was about to ask further, before she could, Neji blinked and smiled.  
_ " _I can finally stretch my wings," he said softly. He turned around and looked at Tenten in the eye. "Before tomorrow," he said. "I want to tell you something."_

 _Tenten felt her heart began to race, as if it was picking up its pace. She felt blood rushing to her face as she stared at Neji's porcelain, sculpture like face._

 _As his lips parted, he quickly turned around. "Someone's coming, probably looking for us."_

 _He proceeded to turn his body around and walked back towards the tent._

 _Tenten stared longingly as he did, her heart wanted her to shout his name, but her mind told her to follow him in silence._

 _That was the last words he had ever spoken to her._

"Tenten?" She found herself far behind him, as he stood at the edge of the narrow street, looking back at her.

"Sorry." She muttered as she catch back up.

She followed him as he leapt up to the roof, they leapt from roof to roof, just as they once did when they were genins, catching rich lady's cats or looking for a lost child.

She realised that the lights began to dim around them, as they moved further and further away from the centre of the village.

The sound of crowds was replaced by the sound of wind brushing pass the trees, the rustling of the leaves as he descended from the tree tops.

As her feet touched the ground, she found herself standing in front of the river in the training ground. Neji stood there right in the middle.

Tenten stood there as he walked up to her, his pale eyes fixated upon her.

"I want to tell you something." Her spine shivered as a chill went down. His voice never changed, while everything about her has changed.

Tenten took a gulp, she stared into his eyes, wondering how they could be so pristine.

"Go ahead." She paced herself, straightening her back.

"I can only tell you this," he said. Tenten's heart sank, her mind was instantly alerted. "You're the only one I can trust with this."

"Not even Naruto?"

"Not even Naruto, not before I am sure." He blinked, closing his eyes painfully as his knees hit the ground.

She dropped to the ground immediately, holding Neji by the shoulder right before he collapsed to the ground. He gritted his teeth in pain, she saw a strange eerie light glowing on his chest.

Tenten gently removed the clothing, and saw a small rhombus, glowing right where his heart was supposed to be.

"Neji, you need to stay awake, tell me…" Neji held her hand, before losing his consciousness.

Tenten stared as the rhombus faded back into a small scar of the identical shape.

As he slumped himself down onto the soft grass, Tenten took several deep breaths as an attempt to calm herself down.

There must be something more sinister to this, and whoever has brought Neji back to life must have a purpose - and is preventing him from telling her.

Tenten smiled at him painfully, as she saw him lying on the grass, asleep. Checking that his vital signs were fine, she laid down next to him, staring at the profile of his face.

Perhaps this face was the same face that spoke to her that night at the cliffs, perhaps those lips spoke the same words; apart from all that, something was different.

 _Just like her, Neji is not the same._

Right now, there are simply too many questions that have to be answered - and only if those questions are answered can she finally get the answer she wanted.

 _What did he want to tell her that night?_

* * *

Author's note:

Hello everyone, here's a new chapter - hopefully you enjoy the new elements (or not so new) that I added into the story ... just to make it more multilayer - I hope I don't end up breaking your hearts (at least not too bad) ...

About updates: I apologise for not being able to update regularly; I am currently a final year university student with a very demanding schedule ... I will try my best to update. Thank you all for your support and patience - I will try to produce quality chapters (hopefully more regularly) for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

V.S.V xoxo


	9. To Free a Bird

As he opened his eyes, his vision began to clear up.

Tenten was sitting right next to him, there was a shade of darkness underneath her large, brown eyes; he could tell she was struggling to stay awake.

"You haven't slept the entire night?"

"Hehe," she chuckled softly before stretching and throwing her lean arms into the air. "It's not like these training grounds have changed, since…" Tenten looked away for a brief second. "Anyway, you fainted last night, it's only right that I keep watch until you wake up."

Neji pressed onto the ground and sat up, Tenten hesitantly reached out, she retracted her hand as he did.

Before he could say anything, Tenten sighed softly and caught his attention.

"You said you have to tell me something last night, something that you couldn't even tell Naruto." Tenten studied his stoic expression. "The thing is, the moment you started to try tell me, there was a small rhombus on your chest that started to glow and then you fainted."

"Hmph, someone is stopping me from telling you something."

"From telling _anyone_ that something," Tenten stated, her voice was stern. "I've been studying these new ninja tech, this does seem like an inhibitory device."

"Is it possible to remove it?"

"Maybe." Tenten said. "I'll talk to Sakura about this, but with that, I suspect that you are being monitored, for a more sinister purpose."

"Hmph," Neji sighed softly. "I guess this is fate then."

Tenten arched an eyebrow, as the man stood up and spread his arms open.

"No matter how hard I try, I'm always the bird in the cage - even in this new life." Neji laughed dryly. "No matter…"

Neji was not expecting Tenten to say anything - after all, she never did when he said things like that in the past.

He could sense a rapid approaching movement, before he could dodge it, his face took a hit, and he found himself spinning slightly from the sudden force.

He steadied himself and turned around, only to find a huffing and puffing Tenten, red with anger, glaring at him.

"What's that for?" He asked, confused, pressing onto his face with his hand as he felt it popping beneath his touch.

"Can you not be like this?" Tenten gritted her teeth, her body froze following her swing against him. "I thought...I thought you would have realised how important you are," she tightened her fists. "Do you know how many people thought of you as their hero? How you sacrificed yourself for Naruto and Hinata, how you are the role model that Hinata preached to her children everyday; how you lived your life by breaking free of chains … now you want to bind yourself again with all these destiny crap?"

"Tenten I…"  
"I'm not finished," Tenten looked up, her brunette eyes filled with anger and sadness as she glared straight into his milky white orbs.

"You, ever since I met you've been the centre of my world - I admired you, I looked up to you … hell, I loved you," her voice faded into a soft sigh. "I still do."

Neji stood straight, facing her as his hand fell from his face to his side.

"When you...when you died, Neji," Tenten wrapped her arm around her torso, as if she was suppressing an unbearable pain. "I didn't have the time to feel, I had to fight, and fight … I only had the time to mourn when everything was finally over … I never stopped thinking about you."

Neji closed his eyes for a brief moment, there was so much sadness, so much pain in her eyes - he wished he could do something.

"I... I…" Her incessant sobbing halted as she took a deep breath, she closed her eyes and shouted, at the top of her lungs.

"It took me almost twenty years to accept the fact that you're gone, how dare you to just show up and become alive again?" Tears streamed down her face as she shouted, as loud as she could.

Birds scurried and flew away as her voice echoed around the forest, perhaps the birds sensed the desperation in her voice, the fury, the sadness.

Each word she said rocked his world, shaking him to his core - it was as if everything was collapsing around him.

"How dare you just show up, as if nothing had happened and now, now you decided to just tarnish everything that you stood for? How dare you!"

Neji stood there stunned, frowning slightly as he stared into her sad bloodshot eyes.

"I am sorry Tenten," said Neji. "I...but aren't you at least, happy to have me back? Aren't you glad that I am alive?" He raised his arms in frustration. "Do you wish that I am dead, gone forever?"

Tenten looked at him, there was a sad smile on her face as she looked at him, he wondered if he had seen anything darker than this - it was almost as dark as the endless void he thought he saw when he died.

"What for?" Her voice was raspy from crying and shouting, each sound she made scratched against him like sandpaper. "So that you could come back and destroy your legacy? So that you could throw yourself back into despair?" She paused as she looked down on the ground.

"So that I could lose you again?"

Neji thought his heart stopped for a second time. He watched as Tenten dropped to her knees, silently sobbing as she covered her face in her hands.

He walked up to her slowly, step by step as he could hear the clear crunching of grass beneath his sandal.

Crouching down, he was inches in front of her.

He felt a stung as he touched her shoulder with his fingertips; it felt ever so familiar, yet it seemed that the distance between them was insurmontable.

"Tenten," he said, his voice as soft as a touch of a feather. "I'm sorry."

The woman did not budge, she knelt on the ground and continued to cover her face - he could hear her sobbing stop.

"I...I didn't realise what I said would hurt you so much, I'm so, so sorry."

She looked up, he reached over quickly and wiped away a stray tear off from her face. As his fingertip grazed her skin, he noticed the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, the sparse grey hair that hid itself well in her brunette locks … he found himself gulping at the sight.

Tenten reached up and held his hand in hers, it remained on her face as she did.

"I've lived eighteen years safeguarding your legacy, protecting the village that you would've done if you were here," she said, a warm smiling hung on her face as she did. "I wouldn't let anyone tarnish your legacy, not eve if it's you."

Neji found himself at a loss of words, the only thing he knew he could, and should do was to pull her into his arms.

Tenten found her head against his chest, listening to his humming heartbeat - it was a strange sound to hear, almost disturbing to her senses.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me back then?"

Neji felt a shock down his spine as his embrace around her became frigid, Tenten looked up and patted on his shoulder gently.

"It's ok if you don't remember, don't push yourself too hard."

"I remember," he said. "I do."

He looked down into her brown eyes, those eyes that shared the same longing he had for her, the longing that he had not discovered som many years ago.

He whispered the words gently into the wind, into her ear before gently pressing his lips against hers.

 _Be mine._

He could feel his heart fluttering as he did, to become one with her - it was long overdue.

Unknown to him, behind the fluttering of his heart, someone had been watching in the shadows, quietly.

 _It's almost time._

The shadowy figure smiled mischievously as it disappeared into the dark woods.

* * *

Author's note:

I hope you enjoy, I had some time (and lots of inspiration) to write up chapters! Feel free to leave me a review xoxo

Will try to update ASAP xoxo Thanks for the love and support

V.S.V

P.S. I hope I tugged your heartstrings with this one, it's a tad bit emotional ...


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